The Kochi Biennale was instrumental in bringing the best of contemporary art to the shores of Kochi. The average Malayali understood that art doesn’t have to limit itself to a canvas on the wall.
Though not connected to the biennale, Vinod Krishna came up last year with the idea of a Poetry Installation and the acceptance by the public has encouraged him and his team to come up with a second edition at the Durbar Hall art gallery.
The first installation of a serenely sitting Buddha being pounded in the head by a huge red gloved fist will stop you in your tracks and that happens to be a sculpture representation of Tenzin Tsundue’s poem When it Rains in Dharmasala. Tensin is a poet, writer and Tibetan activist who has been involved in Tibet’s independence movement since his student days.
He says, “Poetry is universal and it was exciting as a poet, whose medium is words, to see the artistic interpretation of my poem, frozen in an image because this three dimensional aspect of poetry is a first for me.”
“My poem talks about Dharmasala being the shelter for refugees living in India who see the dream of going back to Tibet one day. Dharmasala is a metaphor of temporary life!” he adds.
The aim of Poetry Installation is to take the written word to physical spaces through an amalgamation of poetry, sound, sculpture, visuals and reading in a multidimensional depiction. Freedom, patriotism and gender equality are the main themes of the four sculptures which resonate with the poetry of four poets; Tensin’s When it Rains in Dharmasala, Rafeeq Ahamed’s Deshabhakthiyekurichu chila varikal, Cini Mathew John’s Chathurangapalakayile Aravangal and Ajeesh Dasan’s Savappetty march. The installations have been sculpted by youngster Sharon Phillip.
Vinod Krishna, director of the show, informs, “If last year’s was three-dimensional, we are striving to go a step ahead and incorporate the additional sense of smell for Savappetty march (March of the coffins). We have incorporated poetry that reflects on death, individual freedom, false patriotism, exiled people and the value of women. Our freedom should not be restricted to any particular region, state or nation. Like birds, we should be able to fly freely to any land without a passport or a visa.” These poems were selected because they all addressed the theme of freedom and had great scope of being made into sculptures.
Another installation based on lyricist Rafeeq Ahamed’s poem has taken on the form of a man lying on a bed of guns with an eagle with outstretched wings for his head. The poetry is rendered in the baritone of actor/director Joy Mathew and brims with patriotism and the freedom spirit.
Cini is a scientist based in Canada and her poem has taken the shape of a visually arresting installation of the lower halves of a nude man and woman with the woman having a lock for her body and the man having a key in his torso, placed on a chessboard.
She explains, “It is the anxieties of a woman in black and white. My poetry is about gender bias. The female gender cannot express or come out with ideas, they are subjugated. The male is basically the controller. I am happy that my poetry has been beautifully captured through the installation.”
Ajeesh is a journalist and his poem talks about death and is illustrated in the form of a body lying in an iron box coffin. Ajeesh explains, “At the time of political turmoil, my poem stresses on patriotism!”
The man behind the sound is state award winner Renganaath Ravee. He says, “Last time, there were just two themes but this time it is four and the challenge was not to repeat any of the sounds in the other installations.” Sharon and Renganaath were free to interpret the poems in their own way.
